What is patent?

A patent is the right protecting an invention in any field of technology. In order for an invention to be patentable, it must meet three requirements:

- being new,

- involving an inventive step,

- being susceptible of industrial application.

Patent right is granted by the responsible state auhority with the payment of the fee, and it lasts for a certain period of time in a certain territory. The same invention may be protected simultaneously in several countries, provided that it has been applied for, examined, and granted at national level in every country where patent protection is sought.

A patent is granted for a fixed number of years. Patents last 20 years, and consensual patents last 10 years from the filing date of the application.

The following shall not be regarded as inventions: discoveries, scientific theories and mathematical methods, aesthetic creations, schemes, rules and methods for performing mental acts, playing games or doing business, computer programs, and presentation of information defined by the content of such information itself.